More Hollywood Reaction to Mel Gibson

I understand that ICM will be making a statement today re Mel Gibson. ICM decision not to make a statement today. The agency will keep Mel Gibson, its client of 18 years. More Hollywood power players speak up publicly about the slur scandal. Today’s Los Angeles Times beats The New York Times’ coverage of the Mel Gibson slur scandal fallout by a mile. That’s because of the article by Claudia Eller and Claire Hoffman featuring “several prominent Hollywood figures [who] broke the industry’s silence by publicly condemning the star.” Quoted first is Sony Pictures movie chairwoman Amy Pascal, who was the only studio chief to speak to the reporting pair on the record. “It’s incredibly disappointing that somebody of his stature would speak out that way, especially at this sensitive time,” she told the paper. Next was producer Arnon Milchan, an Israeli citizen, who said: “To make all of your money from Jews in Hollywood, and then have a few drinks and say you hate Jews, is shocking. If you are so upset with the Jews, don’t work for them.” Producer Jerry Weintraub is quoted calling Gibson “an old friend of mine. I am so sad, so hurt and so disappointed. I don’t have words to express it. I really feel bad for him as a human being. I never knew this side of him.” Producer Laura Ziskin termed it “appalling. In a world in which there is so much hatred, and there is so much violence, to harbor those kinds of feelings … it is so sad.” Asked by the paper about ever working with Gibson, Ziskin said: “I don’t see that in my future.” Veteran talent manager Bernie Brillstein also told the LAT he would not work with Gibson. “If he calls me tomorrow, would I represent him? The answer is no. That doesn’t make me right. I just don’t like bigots.” Until this story, only Ari Emanuel and Oren Aviv had gone public about the Gibson slur scandal. ICM’s Jeff Berg told the paper, “I hate what he said, and so does he. His remarks have created a first-class mess, and he has owned up to it. You cannot spin this. This is a question not of how low you can sink, but how you can dig yourself out of this hole.” Berg told the LAT he was communicating the actor’s remorse to his staff and clients. “We’re not going to back away from him in a moment of need,” Berg said. “Our goal is to help him, not judge him.”